It's official: Foes of San Rafael-area Supervisor Susan Adams may begin circulating a recall petition in an effort to oust her from office.

Marin Registrar of Voters Elaine Ginnold approved the recall petition for circulation as is required by law after proponents made clerical changes to format and wording.

In a letter Monday to recall advocate Allissa Chacko, Ginnold said:

"You have until Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013 to circulate your petition and file it in our office. That date is 120 days from the date of this letter. ... Your petition requires the signatures of 6,368 valid registered voters in Supervisorial District One."

The petition says simply that the "grounds for the recall are as follows: Supervisor Adams failure to represent her constituents."

The petition includes a statement by Adams in which the supervisor says she has an open-door policy with constituents and has a record that "speaks for itself," including resolving issues about the San Rafael Rock Quarry, "working with constituents on rehabilitation of Marinwood Plaza," and addressing flood control and bayland protection, among other things.

The recall group has issued concerns about matters involving plans for low-income housing, especially at Marinwood Plaza.

A likely scenario if the ouster bid collects the needed signatures includes a recall election sometime next March or early April, right before the June election in which Adams has pledged to run for re-election.

A recall election would cost about $250,000, Ginnold said.

"Recalls are never pleasant," she added, saying she processed several while working as an election officer in Alameda County. No matter how awkward the situation, "we maintain total impartiality," she said of the elections staff. "It's important to treat everybody fairly in this process."

Recalls involving Marin supervisors are rare. The last recall of a Marin County board member occurred in 1961 during heated debate over the fate of the Civic Center when Supervisor J. Walter Blair was ousted and replaced by Peter Behr.